Today's Beginning

Acts 12:16 (NLT), "Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally saw him, they were amazed." Tuesday... It just needs to be opened. There are so many doors in our life that if we would open them we would be amazed. In Acts 12 there is a door that was shut and then opened in amazement. Yes, it just needed to be opened. Have you ever prayed and prayed and there is a door that has the answer on the other side but we keep praying and not opening it? There is alway a part for us to play in our prayers. Now here King Herod decided it was a good thing for him to kill these followers of Christ. He killed John's brother James and then arrested Peter, put him in prison ready the next day to bring him to trial and then kill him. So, there were many of Christ's followers who gathered to pray for Peter's release and for God to answer their prayers. Yes, prayer is a good thing to do but there must be faith and expectation from us when we pray. Prayer is not just an emo...

Psalm 142:3a (NLT), "When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn." Monday... This is so important for us to know. King David writes in Psalm 142:3a (NLT), "When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn." Now David was a King and I am not a King. I mean, there is no way that I know what a king knows. I'm really surprised that he is overwhelmed but of course he knows the way to turn. He is a King. And that is the way so many people think. Well, David was a different kind of King. He didn't have all the answers but knew who did and we can know who it is, too. In verse 1 he says, "I cry out to the LORD; I plead for the LORD's mercy." In verse 2 he continues, "I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles." Now verse 4 says. "I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me." And that is how w...

Psalm 139:1 (NLT), "O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me." Friday... This can be a good thing for us to know. We always want to be honest with those who are in our life but sometimes honesty can make relationships difficult except with God. Do you remember that phrase in the movie, "You can't handle the truth"? Have you found that to be true with someone close to you? Honesty can cause problems, can't they? Well, King David in Psalm 139:1 (NLT) says, "O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me." And He definitely can handle the truth and He definitely can make a difference in us but that is not always true with others. I've known marriages that never worked because one of the two was honest at the very beginning and there wasn't real but emotional love. And that is so sad, but that is not true with God. Verse 7 says, "I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your pre...

Psalm 138:2b (NLT), "I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name." Thursday... Yes, that's where our trust must go. Now, Isaiah says in 48:1 (NIRV), "People of Jacob, listen to me. You are called by the name of Israel. You come from the family line of Judah. You make promises in the name of the LORD. You pray to Israel's God. But you aren't honest. You don't mean what you say." We have problems with people like that, don't we? And I know that God does too. Now King David gives us another choice. In Psalm 138:2b (NLT) he writes, "I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name." Verse 1 says, "I give thanks, O LORD, with all my heart; I will sing praises before the gods." Verse 6 is important. It says, "Though the LORD is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distanc...

Acts 8:4 (NLT), "But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went." Wednesday... So how do we handle difficulties? In each of the three chapters I read this morning, the people were scattered but they handled their difficulties in different ways. Now in both Psalm 137 and Isaiah 47, God's people were taken from their homes in Jerusalem to Babylon. In Psalm 137:1-2 it tells of their response. It says, "Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees." Yes, that is a natural response, isn't it? I used to do that response a lot but I now strive to let my woe is me happen just for a moment. Yes, that is one response. But I'm not sure that response is a good way to handle life especially in this day in which we are living. It may not show how God can handle whatever we are going through. Now in Isaiah they bring judgment. Ver...

Psalm 136:23 (NLT), "He remembers us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever." Tuesday... Love is definitely acceptance even weaknesses. Psalm 136 is a unique Psalm. It gives 26 different statements and then says, "His love endures forever." Now verse 23 says, "He remembers us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever." Now usually remembering a weakness doesn't say anything about love. Even when we look at our weakness we don't usually then say anything about love. We usually have a disappointment and a I've got to do better. I just went through a situation. I caused a problem for someone else and then I read this verse. The fact of my weakness stood out to me. And I felt bad. But God has a different view. Maybe you needed to see that today. Maybe your mate or your kids or one of your friends didn't handle a situation the way you wanted. Even maybe it was you. So how did you respond? "He remembers us in our weaknes...

Psalm 135:5-6 (NLT), "I know the greatness of the LORD - that our Lord is greater than any other god. The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in the depth." Monday... Yes He does.  Psalm 135:5-6 (NLT) says, "I know the greatness of the LORD - that our Lord is greater than any other god. The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in the depth." He really does and we can possibly have some problem with it. Now hold on to that. I also read this over in Isaiah 45:5 and it says, "I have equipped you for battle, though you don't even know me." Yes, God has equipped people in so many different ways and they don't even know Him. Ok, I know God is greater than any other god and I do see that He does whatever He pleases but we can have problems with the fact that He will equip people and they may not even know him. There are times in our lives when we see him workin...

Acts 5:39 (NLT), "But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourself fighting against God!" Friday... But are we right? It is so easy for us as individuals to believe that we are right and they are wrong, especially in the Christian world. There is so much negativity on the internet even from Christians." The Jewish religious leaders of course were the ones who killed Jesus and they believed they were right and here in the book of Acts they were having problems with Jesus' apostles who had taken up spreading the message of Jesus and his kingdom. They had thrown them in prison and they were talking about killing them and here one of the Jewish leaders gave some good advise. In Acts 5:38-39, Gamaliel said, "So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will be not be able to overthrow them. You may ev...

Acts 4:13b (NLT), "They also recognized them as being with Jesus." Thursday... Yes, it came from the one they had been with. We work so hard at our confidence and our reputation. We so want to be respected, looked up to, and acknowledged. But we don't realize how important it is for us to who we spend our time with. Yes, that is really important. I am now reading in the book of Acts in the New Testament. This book could be called the Acts of the Apostles or the Acts of the Holy Spirit. I have just finished the last of the four gospels which are all about Jesus and his time on earth but he has been crucified, resurrected and has now gone on to heaven to be with his Father so this book is about the ones who had been with him, who had been left behind with a great task. Now Peter and John two of Jesus' Apostles who had spent three years with Him had done what Jesus would have done on the way to the temple. They had healed a lame man and the religious leaders didn't l...

Isaiah 40:31 (NLT), "But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagle. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Wednesday... So, how are you doing today? Now Isaiah gives some real encouragement to me as an old-timer. In Isaiah 40:30 (NLT) he writes, "Even youth will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion." Now I have forgotten what it was like to be a youth. That was a long time ago but Isaiah reminds us that they too have problems with becoming weak and tired. And, yes our LORD cares about each one of us no matter our age. He cares about you and me and he really does understand what we are going through. Verse 28 says, "Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary, no one can measure the depths of his understanding." He really does understand. Now verse 31 is one of my...

Acts 2:21 (AMP), "And it shall be that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invocking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord Jesus] shall be saved (rescued spiritually)." Tuesday... We have listened and done His instructions. There are definitely a lot of fears in our life. And death is one of them because we have never personally experienced it. But if we have listened and done God's instructions then we will not be held in death's power and that is definitely a good thing, isn't it? Now it is an unknown that we haven't personally experienced. Yes in others but not us personally. Now in Acts 2:21 (AMP) Peter is speaking and he says, "And it shall be that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invocking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord Jesus] shall be saved (rescued spiritually)." Verse 38 says, "And Peter said to them, "Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah]...

Psalm 128:1-2 (AMP), "Blessed [happy and sheltered by God's favor] is everyone who fears the LORD, [and worships Him with obedience], who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments. For you shall eat the fruit of [the labor of] your hands, you will be happy and blessed and it will be well with you." Monday... Now this is a great way to start a Monday morning. Psalm 128:1-2 (AMP) says, "Blessed [happy and sheltered by God's favor] is everyone who fears the LORD, [and worships Him with obedience], who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments. For you shall eat the fruit of [the labor of] your hands, you will be happy and blessed and it will be well with you." Yes, that is a great way to start a Monday morning. Look at these words, blessed, happy, sheltered by God's favor, eat the fruit of the labor of your hands, and it will be well with you. And all you need to do is worship God, be obedient, walk in His way and live accord...

Psalm 119:133 (AMP), "Establish my footsteps in [the way of] Your word; Do not let any human weakness have power over me [causing me to be separated from You]." Friday... There can be unrest. Yes, there can be. Now the importance of it depends upon where it comes from. I as a child moved all over the place so moving is in my blood. Yes, moving can come from unrest but it is so important where the unrest comes from. Now at my age moving is not an easy thing to do and that can be a good thing. It keeps me settled. So, unrest can be a good thing or a bad one. Depending on where it comes from. Now, Psalm 119:133 (AMP) is a very good prayer for us to pray. It says, "Establish my footsteps in [the way of] Your word; Do not let any human weakness have power over me [causing me to be separated from You]." That is so good. Yes, unrest can be a human weakness but also a way for God to speak to us and to establish our footsteps in the way of His word. The Message Paraphrase sa...

Psalm 124:7 (NLT), "We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free!" Thursday... Yes, we know who broke the trap. Now that is true of me. There have been traps set into my life where I was rescued. Yes being trapped for some is the end of the story. But not the writer of Psalm 124:7 (NLT). He writes, "We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free!" Now too many times on my own that would not have been true. T here are so many who are still in that trap and it hurts. It really does. Now verse 8 says, "Our help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." That has been true of me. Over in John 20 one of the twelve disciples was in the trap of seeing before believing. Jesus had been resurrected and he had been seen by a few of the disciples but not Thomas. Verse 25 says, "But they told him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he replied, 'I won't believe it unless I se...

Psalm 119:100 (AMP), "I understand more than the aged [who have not observed Your precepts], because I have observed and kept Your precepts." Wednesday... It isn't always a good thing to compare, but... I really do appreciate the life that God has brought me through. My birthday on Monday says that I have been living a long time. Now it isn't always a good thing to compare but I have really been privileged to have been exposed to God and his Word, the Bible. Now Psalm 119:100 (AMP) caught my attention as I was reading the Bible today. It says, "I understand more than the aged [who have not observed Your precepts], because I have observed and kept Your precepts." And I can say that too! Some are not as old as I am but everyone has the potential to observe God's precepts and live by them and I want to tell you from my experience that it will make all the difference in your life. Look at this, verses 100-101 in the New Living Translation says, "I am wi...

Isaiah 32:19-20a (NLT), "Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down, the LORD will bless his people." Tuesday... Even if is not the end. We live in a world where we put our happiness in so many different ideas and voices, and we strive to be positive. We say even if bad happens we will still be happy but when it happens we live with such deep despair. We put our trust in our ability to be happy but then bad happens. Now Isaiah, a prophet in the Old Testament of the Bible lived in very difficult times.  In Isaiah 32:6 (NLT) he writes, "For fools speak foolishness and make evil plans. They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the LORD. They deprive the hungry of food and give no water to the thirsty." And that is also true even in the day in which we live. But he goes on. In verses 19-20a he says, "Even if the forest should be destroyed and the city torn down, the LORD will bless his people." Somehow we need to really catc...

Psalm 119:65-66 (NLT), "You have done so many good things for me, LORD, just as you promised. I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgement and knowledge." Monday... It is so good to look back and then ahead. It really is. There can be in looking back confidence building for what is ahead. That is what the Psalmist did in Psalm 119:65-66 (NLT). He writes, "You have done so many good things for me, LORD, just as you promised. I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgement and knowledge." Now the Evil One wants us to look back but he wants us to only see the bad. And of course there is some bad. And so many only see the bad and if that is all they see then that is what they will see in their future. Again the Psalmist says in verse 65, "You have done so many good things for me, LORD." And then he says, "just as you promised." Our looking back on the good things brings us to remember what God has promised and that he can be truste...